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A HERETIC I AM

(24,317 posts)
Fri Mar 29, 2019, 09:41 AM Mar 2019

Aviation Enthusiasts! NASA Snaps pictures of Supersonic shockwaves of 2 T-38's VERY cool!

NASA's mission to capture air-to-air images of supersonic shock waves was a long and fraught process that lasted more a decade. But now, the space agency has accomplished the task with flying colors.

On Tuesday, NASA released a series of stunning images that show two T-38 supersonic jetliners tearing through the atmosphere, creating sonic shock waves. The images were made possible by a NASA B-200 King Air aircraft, which ferried an updated camera imaging system up to 30,000 feet. At altitude, it followed the jets from a distance of 2,000 feet, snapping their trek through the sound barrier at 1,400 frames per second.

“I am ecstatic about how these images turned out”

The T-38s flew in tight formation, separated only by 10 feet. Documenting their burst through the sound barrier from such a close vantage point will help NASA accrue more data on supersonic shock waves than ever before, which is a pressing matter given the potential resurrection of supersonic passenger travel.


From here









Here's the NASA Website story;
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/features/supersonic-shockwave-interaction.html
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Aviation Enthusiasts! NASA Snaps pictures of Supersonic shockwaves of 2 T-38's VERY cool! (Original Post) A HERETIC I AM Mar 2019 OP
Wow! Those Pictures are Amazing! dlk Mar 2019 #1
I set the red/orange pic as my desktop background! nocoincidences Mar 2019 #2
... A HERETIC I AM Mar 2019 #5
Does this create sonic booms? CrispyQ Mar 2019 #3
I imagine it does, yes. A HERETIC I AM Mar 2019 #4
But the Chem trails LiberalArkie Mar 2019 #6
Trump eliminated those! Remember? Nt BootinUp Mar 2019 #25
Oopsy! kooth Mar 2019 #7
Yup, I was going to make the same comment. . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Mar 2019 #9
Yeah.... being a pilot and aviation nut those things bug the shit out of me. groundloop Mar 2019 #10
Let me explain how this post came together A HERETIC I AM Mar 2019 #16
Yes! Not my text, thankfully! A HERETIC I AM Mar 2019 #12
Planes breaking the sound barrier - Sonic Boom Compilation OxQQme Mar 2019 #8
That's a cool vid and one of many, but not all those planes are breaking the sound barrier A HERETIC I AM Mar 2019 #13
That's amazing. Sonic booms were a regular feature of life when I was a kid in the early 50s... Hekate Mar 2019 #11
One of the things that killed the likes of the Concord.... A HERETIC I AM Mar 2019 #14
I still hear them once in a blue moon, flyboys get carried away & I'm sure get reprimands. yaesu Mar 2019 #18
While on my morning walk I heard a strange whine/roar over head mitch96 Mar 2019 #26
Wow! (I bet it's crazy fun to fly those things.) nt Honeycombe8 Mar 2019 #15
No kidding! A HERETIC I AM Mar 2019 #17
Way cool! Kitchari Mar 2019 #19
WHOA!!! calimary Mar 2019 #20
I'd look forward to the double sonic boom of the Space Shuttle landing at Edwards AFB... hunter Mar 2019 #21
Thanks for posting! Tipperary Mar 2019 #22
Cool shot! EX500rider Mar 2019 #23
I know. A HERETIC I AM Mar 2019 #24

A HERETIC I AM

(24,317 posts)
4. I imagine it does, yes.
Fri Mar 29, 2019, 10:21 AM
Mar 2019

In the early oughts I lived in Palmdale, CA, home of the Lockheed “Skunk Works” and right across the valley from Edwards AFB and the NASA flight research center (used to be called the Dryden research center but they changed the name to honor Neil Armstrong) and heard sonic booms on a regular basis.

groundloop

(11,486 posts)
10. Yeah.... being a pilot and aviation nut those things bug the shit out of me.
Fri Mar 29, 2019, 11:37 AM
Mar 2019

T-38s are rather small supersonic (barely) trainers, definitely NOT a jet-liner. The photos are fantastic, but the writing could stand to be more technically correct (And you'd think that Popular Mechanics could do better).

A HERETIC I AM

(24,317 posts)
16. Let me explain how this post came together
Fri Mar 29, 2019, 12:20 PM
Mar 2019

I subscribe to a weekly email newsletter from "FlightAware". Their link accompanying the story was to the Popular Mechanics piece. Inside that story is the NASA source story which I linked in my OP. Reading the NASA write up on the event makes clear the writer is knowledgeable and uses the proper terms.

I am and have always been an aviation enthusiast. I don't have a pilots license, but I have always loved and been fascinated by aircraft of all types. I put up posts like this on occasion and I endeavor to get things right.

My apologies for any confusion.

A HERETIC I AM

(24,317 posts)
12. Yes! Not my text, thankfully!
Fri Mar 29, 2019, 11:57 AM
Mar 2019

It always bothers me when some TV commentator or writer who clearly has no clue, goes on about something like this and uses incorrect nomenclature. Don't they have editors who are supposed to consult someone who knows this shit?

Yeah...no doubt....the T-38 is about as far from a Jetliner as the Wright Flyer is from a DC-3

A HERETIC I AM

(24,317 posts)
13. That's a cool vid and one of many, but not all those planes are breaking the sound barrier
Fri Mar 29, 2019, 12:04 PM
Mar 2019

The Blue Angels flying over San Francisco Bay are generating what's known as a "Vapor Cone" or "Shock Collar", which is particularly impressive, but not necessarily an indication of supersonic airspeed.


A couple of those passes at sea between or near ships are indeed +700 MPH flybys
Either way, it is cool footage, no doubt.

Hekate

(90,189 posts)
11. That's amazing. Sonic booms were a regular feature of life when I was a kid in the early 50s...
Fri Mar 29, 2019, 11:46 AM
Mar 2019

Was just thinking the other day I haven't heard one in years.

A HERETIC I AM

(24,317 posts)
14. One of the things that killed the likes of the Concord....
Fri Mar 29, 2019, 12:08 PM
Mar 2019

was the almost universal opposition to them flying over populated areas at speed.

NASA and others have been trying for years now to develop air frame shapes and aircraft that will produce no or nearly no sonic boom.

It's my understanding that when the British Airways and Air France Concords took off from JFK, the pilots couldn't "firewall" the throttles till they were well off the Eastern tip of Long Island.

yaesu

(8,020 posts)
18. I still hear them once in a blue moon, flyboys get carried away & I'm sure get reprimands.
Fri Mar 29, 2019, 12:25 PM
Mar 2019

Its been a few years, the biggest one was back in the 80's, got everyone outside looking for the tree that fell on the house

mitch96

(13,816 posts)
26. While on my morning walk I heard a strange whine/roar over head
Fri Mar 29, 2019, 06:19 PM
Mar 2019

Living near two large and one small airport I hear all kinds of piston, radial, jet and helo sounds but this was different. I scan the sky and it was two F/A 18's flying in formation heading for the coast.. The closest military base is down in the key's if I remember correctly
Neat very distinctive sound.. They were going slow over residential area so no "boom"...rats.

m

A HERETIC I AM

(24,317 posts)
17. No kidding!
Fri Mar 29, 2019, 12:24 PM
Mar 2019

Tell me this doesn't look like a blast!





Or this;




On edit to add, there are hours and hours of YouTube vids like these. Just search "Low level flight"

hunter

(38,263 posts)
21. I'd look forward to the double sonic boom of the Space Shuttle landing at Edwards AFB...
Fri Mar 29, 2019, 12:52 PM
Mar 2019

... when I lived in Southern California.

EX500rider

(10,517 posts)
23. Cool shot!
Fri Mar 29, 2019, 01:26 PM
Mar 2019

But in none of those pictures do they have a 10 ft separation. (the article's words, not yours)

A HERETIC I AM

(24,317 posts)
24. I know.
Fri Mar 29, 2019, 02:02 PM
Mar 2019

The NASA write up is much clearer.

The pertinent paragraph;

The images feature a pair of T-38s from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, flying in formation at supersonic speeds. The T-38s are flying approximately 30 feet away from each other, with the trailing aircraft flying about 10 feet lower than the leading T-38. With exceptional clarity, the flow of the shock waves from both aircraft is seen, and for the first time, the interaction of the shocks can be seen in flight.
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